Entries in Park Slope
(30)

The music was louder than usual inside. But no one had tampered with the volume knob. That hadn’t changed since December 13th 1979, when John Zawisny, along with his dad and brother, opened Eagle Provisions at 628 5th Avenue. Real estate agencies have come to call the neighborhood South Slope, but 35 years ago, the area on and around 18th Street in Brooklyn was just another enclave of city dwellers paying cheap rent. And like most pockets of urban environments, this one was comprised of folks from like heritage. In this case, Polish. The Zawisnys setup shop and began selling provisions to sustain this community.

Grand Central Oyster Bar opened its first Stateside franchise December 19th. Bruce Fox is in charge of franchising and Jonathan Young, who managed the 101-year-old flagship location in Grand Central, have teamed up to make it happen. The new location, in Park Slope, is in the 5,000-square-foot space that formerly housed Fornino. The Brooklyn location offers 16 to Grand Centrals 32 oyster varieties, but serves most of the same stews and pan roasts, salads, soups, sandwiches, platters and apps. A retail counter (where Fornino's takeout used to be) sells raw and prepared seafood and has ten first-come first-serve bar stools as an homage to the original location. Have a look around..

L'Albero Dei Gelati opened their first stateside satellite last Thursday on 5th Avenue in Park Slope. The Italian import has three locations in Italy and each, including the new Brooklyn location, borrows from the Slow Food Movement that started in Piedmont in the 80s. L'Albero's mission is to source ingredients locally and from farmers who practice sustainable farming. The gelato is the main draw here, but L'Albero also serves coffee, beer and wine, meat and cheese, excellent panini (like the corteccia with mascarpone, lardo, dark chocolate, and black pepper), and bakes their own bread/pastries in-house. The gelateria opens at 10am on weekends, 11am during the week. Cantelope sorbet for breakfast anyone?

News broke at the end of last week that century-old Grand Central Oyster Bar will open an outpost in the former Fornino space in Park Slope. Fornino closed at the beginning of the year and a couple's plans to open a restaurant there fell through after rent was raised and the owner starting looking for golden arches or an equally mindless cash cow to occupy the 256 Fifth Avenue space.

Grand Central Oyster Bar has two locations in Tokyo and one in the Newark Airport. The new project in Park Slope will make the neighborhood one of the city's premiere destinations for oysters and synchs with the neighborhood's quickly changing landscape. Le Pain Quotidien recently opened in the former Moutarde space across the street from Fornino, Calexico will open soon one block south, and barbecue heavyweight Dinosaur Barbecue has hit their stride having opened a month ago a block and a half west (technically Gowanus). From here on out it looks like it's all or nothing for Park Slope. [GTHMST]

After months of construction, the new, long-awaited, stronger-faster-bigger-better location of Franny's is opening tonight at 5:30pm. The new space, at 348 Flatbush, has two ovens, a private dining room, takes reservations for 6 or more, and offers delivery. For now, pizzas are the only thing to go, but more of the menu will be available as the restaurant gets settled.

The new location is also open for lunch Friday through Sunday; from noon to 11:30pm Friday and Saturday, and noon to 11 pm on Sunday. Dinner hours Monday through Thursday are 5:30 pm to 11 pm. No menu on their website yet, but we'll be there soon to find out and get back to you. If you make it there before us, let us know how it is!

The Vendley brothers and Peter Oleyer, owners of Calexico, have been busy readying to open their Lower East Side location. They took over the lease at 153 Rivington Street, where seaside surf shack Bondi Road closed at the end of September after opening in 2006. The LES location will be the first Manhattan satellite when it opens in the upcoming weeks, and the Park Slope outpost will mark the fourth brick-and-mortar for the company that started selling California-inspired tacos from a truck in SoHo six years ago. [HPS]

Over 50 markets have opened citywide since Greenmarket was founded in 1976. In 1991, Miriam Haas founded Community Markets with a similar goal of bringing local, seasonal food to neighborhoods with limited access. Since doing so, a total of almost 20 markets have opened in the boroughs and surrounding counties. Park Slope's vibrant Fifth Avenue received its first market in 2004. Spreading west down the dead end stretch of Fourth Street, the market is open Sundays, 10am - 4pm, year round.

Brooklyn Central opened at 289 5th Ave in Park Slope Wednesday. The new project from the guys behind Sottocasa on Atlantic Avenue is the first to open from our Brooklyln Edition of A Taste of Tastes to Come. A simply decorated room, exposed brick, and wood tables make for a rustic setting to enjoy "Old World" and "New World" pizza creations. For starters; cesar, kale, and arugula salads provide a few green options while meatballs and oven roasted octopus showcase the Italian lean. For the Neapolitan-style pizzas, the Old World options are a bit more traditional, made with mozzarella di bufala imported from Campania in Italy. New World pizzas are made with fresh mozzarella from Brooklyn. The full menu is here. We stopped in before service tonight and snapped a few pictures.